Lynda Barry

Maybonne Mullen is "riding on a bummer" according to her little sister, Marlys. As much as teenage Maybonne prays and tries she just can't connect to the magic of living. How can she when there's so much upheaval at home and school, not to mention the world at large? And yet Marlys always seems able to tap into it. In It's So Magic, the Mullen family dynamics are in flux. Uncle John makes a brief return to town to the delight of the girls. Freddy...

A psycho-killer's daughter narrates her gory youth. Disguised as a boy she accompanies her father on his murderous jobs, during which she pretends to be a mute so as not to give away her voice. One of the more memorable tasks is disposing of dead mobsters in a slaughterhouse.

"In One Hundred Demons, a collection of 20 autobiographical comic strip stories, Lynda Barry wrestles with some of hers in her signature quirky, irrepressible voice. From "Dancing" and "Hate" to "Dogs" and "Magic," the tales included here are at once hilarious and heartbreaking. As she delves into the delights and sorrows of adolescence, family, identity, and love, Barry's ear for dialogue, dead-on delivery, and painterly style showcase her considerable...

"Barry deftly portrays the capricious nature of teen friendships, adolescent peer-pressure, and the kill or be killed nature of a middle school's social scene in her signature style. In an authentic teen voice full of diffidence and melodrama, the bespectacled and freckled Maybonne relates all of life's indignities on equal measure. Heartbreaking stories of a broken home, child molestation, an alcoholic absentee father and a bitter mom emerge between...

A series of portraits features a myopic monkey protagonist and the author's most beloved character, Marlys, in a collection that follows her everyday and fantastical routines of preparing food, waiting for the bus, and associating with her elephant-eared imaginary friend.